How to Be a Foster Failure

Molly explains it all.

Maybe you'll come into a house as a mama cat with kittens. You'll be scared and too shy to interact with people.

Your strategy should be to hide, whenever possible. Be camera shy. When people come to pet the kittens, flee. Almost no one will know the kittens even HAVE a mother.

Where's Molly?

 People will try to pet you. Don't allow this behavior. Run away. Hide. At some point they will take you to the vet. This is horrible. When you get back, burrow deep into the walls, behind the insulation, where no one can find you. The humans will be worried. Let them worry. They deserve it.

Eventually, come out from behind the walls. There is food here. There is a big, handsome orange cat here. Maybe you can find a place here. Sometimes there is butter. Maybe being a house cat is not so bad. Eventually, the humans will realize that you are here to stay.

Molly + Ian, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.

Or maybe you'll be an outdoor cat, roaming the neighborhood, getting belly rubs and food wherever you can. A "six-dinner Sid."

Those indoor cats will look at you from behind the door and hiss. Those pampered indoor cats. Who needs them?

Keep coming around. Soon you'll be a fixture at dinnertime. Then it will start getting cold. Sometimes the humans will leave the garage door open for you. Then there will be a box with a bed in it. Not bad, you think. Not bad at all.

I own this chair.

Then it will get colder. There will be a room inside with an open window, and a soft chair, and a warm blanket. A safe place to sleep. And that's where you'll stay.

Just for a while, the humans say. Until you find a forever home.

But you know better. You know that eventually the other cats will stop hissing at you. That they'll start to realize you're part of the family. And you will notice that the humans have stopped calling you a "foster cat." Now they call you a "foster failure."

But you know there's no success like failure. You know you are a most successful cat.

I am Clark Gable, and yes, I AM fabulous.

Will You Be My Brother?

 

Ian continues to be the "Ambassador Cat" and has been the first resident kitty to welcome our sweet tuxedo foster cat, Clark Gable, into the household. They hang out together, play together, and eat together. Duncan and Molly have made a little progress, too, but they need supervision. If they're not distracted with food, the growling will soon start--but we're trying to convince them that when this cute, mustachioed cat is around, treats magically appear.

Integrating a new cat into a multi-cat house can be challenging, but this guy is such a loving and friendly feline, he's really worth the effort. Of course, if the perfect adoptive home for him comes along, we'll have to let him go, but if not ... this group must somehow form a family!

Clark Gable, Feline Star

Meet our newest foster cat, Clark Gable. This dapper, tuxedo-wearing fellow sports half a 'stache and has a sweet and mellow personality--a true gentleman.

Mmmraow! 

Clark Gable, as we've named this elegant boy, was often seen around the neighborhood. We checked with different neighbors, and it seems he was visiting various houses for food (like the cat in the children's book Six-Dinner Sid), but he had no home. Although he was living outside for as long as a year, Clark's gentle personality made us think he'd lived with people at some point.

 This summer, while we were fostering kittens, Clark often came to the front door for dinner. As the weather got crisper, we started feeding him inside the garage, and set up a cardboard box with a blanket in it. He soon adopted this as his bed.

Clark at the vet, making himself at home.

Around Thanksgiving, when the weather got colder, Clark started coming inside for little visits. He was initially timid about being in enclosed spaces, but once he knew he could get out if he wanted to, he relaxed. He decided having a soft bed and a warm place to sleep was a good thing. And now, he's very content to be a well-fed, much-admired indoor kitty.

Clark went to the vet, where he was a model patient. He is FIV and FeLV negative, has all his shots (he's going back for a booster soon), is neutered, and seems to be about three years old. He is super-friendly with people and he's not at all aggressive with other cats. So far, our cats haven't been very friendly toward him, but we're still hoping to integrate them if we can't find him another home.

If you're interested in adopting Clark Gable, send an email to mirishouse (at) gmail.com.

A star of the silver screen!